Tutoring For Excellence

Coordinator Wants All Youth To Get Extra Help They Need In School

SALUDA — Although she has many more responsibilities than most people are willing to undertake, Annie Wortham, director of special education at Middlesex High School, always seems to be smiliing.

"Annie is someone special," says Dr. Joseph Pociask, Middlesex High School principal. "We're a small school with a faculty of 35 teachers, and it's hard to get all the jobs done." He says that Wortham is always ready to pitch in wherever she's needed.

"She has a genuine love for the kids," Pociask notes, "and the kids love her."

One of Wortham's major interests is a volunteer tutoring program started at the high school last year.

"We use community volunteers, teachers at the school and students who are members of the National Honor Society," she says.

Although 60 students out of the 380-member student body have been recommended for the program, only 10 to 15 students come out for tutoring on a regular basis. That fact saddens Wortham and guidance counselor Tracy Walker, who serve together as coordinators for the tutoring service.

Letters were sent out to parents informing them of the after-school tutoring opportunities, which are held several times a week.

"I don't know what else to do," she says. "We're not going to quit."

Students who come on a regular basis are benefiting from the instruction, she says.

Wortham says one reason some students are not taking advantage of the service is that parents must provide transportation.

In the tutoring program, the regular classroom teacher provides materials for the subjects in which students are having difficulties. Students then get help in the areas where improvement is most needed.

Since exams count one-fourth of the final grade, more tutoring services are offered prior to exams, Wortham says.

Besides acting as a coordinator, Wortham also tutors in English, biology and mathematics.

The energetic teacher says she has spent 25 of her 50 years attending school, and her education continues as she earns the last of credits needed to become a school principal.

"I believe in the value of education," she says, grinning.

Wortham's love of children is evident when she talks about her special education students.

"I've had terrific success with them over the years," she says.

She holds three special education teaching endorsements -- for teaching students with emotional disturbances, specific learning disabilities and mental retardation.

Although her special education classes are small -- six to eight students each -- the work can be draining. Nationwide, the average number of years a teacher stays in special education is only three, Wortham says.

Forty students at Middlesex High are in special education classes. Most will receive a regular diploma. In addition to attending regular classes, once a day the special ed students go to a resource class for extra help with all their subjects.

Wortham teaches math and biology classes to students who will not receive diplomas and also teaches one of the resource classes. She has worked with some of her students for as long as four years.

By the time they receive their diplomas, Wortham says, she feels close to them and usually knows their families.

The key for success is to get the children to stay in school, she says.

When they do, most get their driver's licenses, jobs, apartments and have families.

After school, Wortham can't seem to get enough of school-related activities.

She is president of the Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA), co-president of the Middlesex Education Association and a member of the Mathews County School Board.

She is also sponsor for the 90-member senior class, and is helping the group plan a senior trip. "It's a wonderful thing to be involved with all the seniors," she says.

A lover of the outdoors, Wortham has spent the last 23 summers teaching canoeing at a summer camp in North Carolina.

She has published a book, "Canoeing and Kayaking for Persons with Physical Disabilities."

This is an instructional manual for a sport she says is especially good for people with lower limb disabilities. She and co-author Janet Zeller, who must use a wheelchair, give all book proceeds to the Disabled Paddlers, a branch of the American Canoe Association.

"I'm blessed with a lot of energy," Wortham laughs. "I don't say 'no' enough, but I'm never bored and always have a lot to do."

ANNIE WORTHAM

AGE: 50

HOME: Cobbs Creek, Mathews County.

EDUCATION: Bachelor's in biology and sociology, Hollins College; master's in special education, Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Calif.; completed all but the thesis for a master's in sociology, College of William and Mary.